Indian Railways Directs ICF Chennai To Scrap All Ongoing Tender Processes For Train 18 And Other Train Sets, Here’s Why

The Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai, which manufactures the Vande Bharat Express or Train 18, has been directed by the Ministry of Railways to cancel all ongoing tender processes for making the rakes of the flagship train, reports The Hindu.

According to the report, the decision to withdraw all tender processes for rolling out the train was taken in a high-level meeting comprising top officials of the ministry and leading manufacturer of propulsion systems. The purpose of the meeting was to get “the right technology with wide participation, transparently”, railway sources were quoted in the report as saying.

The Train 18, which was later named as Vande Bharat Express, was launched between New Delhi and Varanasi by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in February this year. The train reportedly ran into controversy over allegation that one private firm was favoured in its manufacturing process.

“The Railway Board has directed ICF, Chennai, and Modern Coach Factory, Rae Bareli, to cancel all tenders not only pertaining to Vande Bharat Express type of rakes but suburban trains such as Electric Multiple Units (EMU), Diesel Electric Multiple Units (DEMU) and Mainline Electric Multiple Units (MEMU) as well. The objective is to offer a level playing field for all suppliers to participate in the making of these trains with the highest level of quality,” a senior railway official was quoted in the report as saying.

As per the report, the tenders relate to the purchase of propulsion systems for distributed power rolling stock, which include traction motors, transformer and traction converters.